Cuddle up to a cute conifer
Don’t let leylandii put you off! There are plenty of handsome dwarf conifers for colour and texture all year round, says Val Bourne
Don’t let lofty leylandii put you off these easy evergreens! There are plenty of handsome dwarf conifers for year-round interest
The garden needs all the help it can get at this time of year because so many plants are in retreat during winter. As a result, evergreens really matter, and if those evergreens have feathery foliage, or finely Abies needled leaves, so much nordmanniana the better because they’ll provide texture and detail, whether it’s frosty or damp. One of the most versatile evergreens is the conifer. Their foliage can vary from rich-green to gold and bluegreen; colours that glow in low winter sunlight. They often produce attractive brown buds or cones, with shapes varying from mop head, to spiky plant sculpture, to waterfall. Admittedly conifers aren’t riding high in the style stakes at the moment. Perhaps 21st-century gardeners have been put off by giant, fast-growing Leyland hedges, or enormous 19th-century introductions from North America? However, there are gardens where they are used well; I recently spotted a lovely grouping in a private garden where the remnants of brown hydrangea heads, silvery subshrubs, strappy foliage and grasses surrounded several carefully chosen specimen conifers. Some appeared to stoop, like gardeners at work, while others stretched out their branches as if worshipping the winter sun.
The secret is to pick the right conifer and integrate it with its neighbours, as John Massey has done at Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands. The heart of the garden is a pond surrounded by an impressive rockery and smaller conifers, which John carefully manages and prunes to improve their shape.
The secret is to pick the right conifer and integrate it with its neighbours
Impact in winter
Pines make handsome garden plants and there are many named dwarf forms of the Mountain pine, Pinus mugo. ‘Mops Midget’ forms a dark-green ball with brown tips to every needled branch. It only reaches H45cm (18in), so this is perfect in a scree garden, container or trough. ‘Mops’ is slightly taller with white buds and purple cones. Pinus mugo ‘Carsten’s Wintergold’ has loosely tasselled, bottlebrush foliage that obligingly turns bright gold as soon as the first frosts strike. Despite their diminutive size, these all make an impact in the winter garden.
If you want a taller conifer to cast a golden glow, the slender-fingered spruce, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’, is like a sophisticated Christmas tree given the Midas touch.
Compact Abies nordmanniana ‘Golden Spreader’ provides another bolt of winter sunshine – although much more geometrical in form. John Massey also uses many forms of Pinus parviflora or Japanese white pine, an airily branched conifer often used for bonsai. Its irregularly spaced stems help create an oriental feel.
Or you could use the silver-blue conical cypress, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Bleu Nantais’, for its feathery foliage and solid upright shape. This tolerant tree only reaches shoulder height after 10 years. There are many slow-growing dwarf conifers that don’t need any pruning and can be allowed to do their own thing. Visit a specialist nursery and prepare to be wowed, but bear in mind that slow-growing dwarf conifers can be pricey because they take time to produce a satisfactory plant. ✿